Urban Folk music reviews

I saw Kellin live at Asheville NC, a couple of years ago.
I bought the album from her parents and she signed it, as well as her band members. No pretense here, just ear candy.

Frankly, this album can't possibly capture the amazing talent and sound she gets out of her tiny frame.

But, you can't stop listening to this, over and over.

One of the most understated examples of determination, to do it her way, and only her way.

I wish she had more albums but quality is definitely better than quantity. And yes, she can cover anyone and anything, oftentimes better than the original.

Bravo!

Delectable first album by a wonderfully gifted singer/songwriter. Kellin Watson is unforgettable artist, with a voice as agile and gallivanting, as crooning and sassy, as teasing and sighing, as plaintive and tender, as astonishingly various as a mockingbird's. She's molded her western North Carolina-accented soprano into a playful instrument of great subtlety and versatility. A microphone never liked a voice better than this one.

Though when they perform live she and her band can cover others' songs with freshness and verve (such as jewels by John Prine, Marvin Gaye, Roberta Flack, Lucinda Williams, and The Police), she has recorded here only her own songs, backed effectively by her band and her own elegantly discrete piano and acoustic guitar. There is not an unremarkable song on this well-produced album, which opens with her declaration of musical independence and closes with a graceful elegy. She does not so much sing a song as weave a stream of arresting images and vivacious commentary about her young life into an infectiously engaging tapestry of sound and sense entirely her own.

Kellin and her superb band, enhanced by an excellent new drummer and dobro player, are reportedly now in studio recording a new album. Judging by the extraordinarily strong new songs sprinkled through the sparkling set we heard them perform at Asheville's Grey Eagle Tavern in January 2006, it will be a treasure.

I saw Kellin Watson at the LEAF Festival in western NC a few months ago. They had her set up on such a small stage and she was sandwiched between two much bigger acts but drew a crowd nonetheless. An amazing vocalist, songwriter, and performer. Great soul!

This five-song EP is full of spark and life. Harding gives his all to the material, and the result is a high-energy (without being over-powering) program. You can hear some clear Beach Boys influences combined with the Byrds in Harding's songs, and he combines the best of both in this disc.